Chapter Text
Suowei lied when he said he was only a bit nervous. In reality, he was ready to make a run for it the second his eyes landed on his new job's building. It took less than fifteen minutes for him to reach the building and then another twenty to work up the courage to go inside.
The tall, and sleek skyscraper was intimidating to walk by, let alone look at. In the past, Suowei worked smaller, regular, and multiple jobs at a time, making just enough to help him cover his expenses. But none of those jobs ever came close to being inside an office like this. In fact, if it weren't for Xiaoshuai's connection, Suowei would've never landed a job like this.
When he first applied, he was sure that he wouldn't even be considered but to Suowei's surprise, he was hired on the spot. And so, despite his lack of experience, Suowei was ready to work himself to the ground for this job. Until Xiaoshuai broke the news to him about his new boss, a week before his start date.
"I think you should turn down the job." Xiaoshuai's brows knitted with concern.
"What?" Suowei sat up straighter in his desk chair as confusion etched on his face. "What are you talking about?"
Xiaoshuai's expression shifted into guilt as he took a seat on the desk. The same desk Xiaoshuai and Suowei revamped his resume, ran through practice interview questions, and helped pick his interview outfit.
"Da Wei," Xiaoshuai sighed. "The boss' last three assistants either quit or got fired within two weeks of starting."
Suowei frowned. "Didn't you say the last one retired?"
"They did, but that was ages ago. Since then, no one has even lasted a month." Xiaoshuai sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I never should've listened to him."
Suowei knew the 'him' Xiaoshuai was referring to was none other than Xiaoshuai's situationship, Guo Chengyu. A tall, handsome, and most of all, persistent man that occasionally visited the clinic just to flirt and sweep away Xiaoshuai for lunch and sometimes dinner.
Despite the many visits and occasional greetings, Suowei rarely interacted with Chengyu and hoped to keep it that way. But as time went by, Suowei noticed how his best friend and the determined suitor grew close when they thought no one was looking. If only he knew that this trivial connection would lead to Suowei's demise.
Suowei grew nervous at the revelation. "Maybe they were just...bad at their jobs?"
"All three of them?" Xiaoshuai leaned back on the desk, staring at him as if Suowei had just announced the sky was green.
Suowei opened his mouth, then closed it again, chewing on his bottom lip. He tried to reason with the news, but it was too ridiculous to make sense out of. A sinking feeling grew in his chest that nearly consumed him. Suowei abruptly stood up and let out a groan that bordered on a wail.
"Then why did you even tell me to apply? You said it was a golden opportunity, but now you're saying that every assistant before me either quit or got fired?" Suowei threw his hands in the air as his voice climbed to a pitch. "What kind of gossip-master are you if you left out the tiny detail that the boss chews through assistants like snacks? That feels like kind of an important thing to mention, especially if I am doomed in the next two weeks!"
Xiaoshuai lept to his own defense. "I swear Da Wei I didn't know. Chengyu didn't even tell me till the other night. If I did I would've never suggested it!"
Suowei slumped back down in the chair, throwing his an arm over his eyes. "Unbelievable. My own best friend and his...not-boyfriend handed me over to the executioner."
Xiaoshuai didn't even argue. Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck while a sheepish smile, riddled with guilt, crawled onto his lips. "I admit it. I messed up. I should've done better research."
He grabbed Suowei's shoulder in a comforting squeeze. "So... what do you wanna do then?"
I don't know, he thought. But he had to take the job. So what if the boss was terrifying? Suowei had faced worse before. Just because the man had driven away every assistant didn't mean Suowei would back down. In fact, he dared him to do his worst.
Suowei shot up again, this time full of vigor. "I'm gonna take that job, last at least a full year, and be the best assistant he's ever had. So what if everyone else quit? Somebody's gotta stick."
And so there he was, trying to stay true to his words, though it didn't stop him from shaking with anxiety as he paced the front entrance of the building.
"You can do this," Suowei repeated to himself. Finally, working up the courage and strength, he fixed his tie and smoothed down his blazer. He clapped his hands together, exhaled, and stepped into the building.
Suowei's eyes grew wide in awe as he walked through the lobby. The high ceilings and walls of windows showing off the city skyline made him feel small all over again, but he pushed forward. His eyes wandered over the simple décor, trying to take in everything, while employees buzzed past him on their way to work. At last, he reached the front desk.
The female lobby attendant stared up at him with hooded eyes. Her appearance looked sharp despite her soft features, which felt fitting for her job. She said, "Hi, how can I help you?"
"Hello, I'm Mr. Chi's new personal assistant. It's my first day," he said, hoping his smile hid his uneasiness.
She nodded and began typing on her computer. "What's your name?"
"Wu Suowei."
The clicking of her keyboard stopped and met his gaze. She raised her right brow, confused. "I'm sorry?"
"My name is Wu Suowei." He quickly pulled out his ID and handed it to her.
"I see," she nodded in disbelief, her eyes piercing his ID before handing it back. "One moment." She tucked back a strand of her dark hair and continued typing while Suowei patiently lingered by her desk, anxious.
Suowei took that moment to take in the environment just a bit longer. He watched as busy bodies moved throughout the building with purpose. He always believed he'd become one of them, but life had other plans after his sisters' moved away and made families of their own, leaving he and his mother alone. Unfortunately, his mother fell ill not too long after, halting any plans that Suowei had for his future and focused solely on getting a job to help him pay for her medical bills.
"Wu Suowei?" A woman with similar, yet slightly older, features to the lobby attendant appeared from the side, breathless but composed. "Please follow me this way."
Suowei followed her closely as they made their way to the elevator and rode up to the fifteenth floor. The woman introduced herself as Chi Cheng's secretary, Ruo Shui, who had also worked for his father. The two made brief small talk before falling into silence.
With every floor, Suowei's heart raced while hands refused to stay still, consistently fiddling with side of his pants, the hair on his nape, his collar, and more.
"Nervous?" she asked with a sympathetic smile.
"Is it that obvious?" Suowei sheepishly smiled.
She lightly chuckled, looked down at the ground, then back at the floor numbers, "Word of advice, try not to get on the young master's bad side and you'll survive, hopefully longer than the rest," she whispered the last part.
Suowei remained silent, tightly clenching his fists. After talking with Xiaoshuai, he had tried to learn as much as possible about his new boss. He learned Chi Cheng was the only heir to the Chi family and set to take over the company following his father's retirement. Chi Cheng was known to have no interest in running the company, yet for some unknown reason, he had agreed to work temporarily.
Other than that, there wasn't much information. There were many 'he saids, she saids' of his scandalous outings and relationships, but no clear account, only rumors about his aggressive behavior, perfectionist tendencies, and string of casual lovers. Not that it mattered. Suowei wasn't interested in dating his boss, or men in general.
Before he could ease his anxiety, the elevator doors opened.